Welcome

Welcome to the website of the Montreal folkgrass trio Steel Rail. Strong original material, superb three-part harmonies and hot picking have helped Tod Gorr, Ellen Shizgal and Dave Clarke win a loyal fan base in Central Canada. After almost a decade of living on opposite ends of the continent, the threesome are back together in Quebec, making new acoustic music that reflects the best of the folk, bluegrass and country traditions.

Check out our latest album, Coming Home.

Join our mailing list for the latest news

July 24, 2023 

Haliburton show cancelled 

Due to circumstances beyond our control, our July 27 concert at the Music Room in Haliburton has been cancelled.

Look for a rescheduled date in the future.  In the meantime, if you have tickets, please contact the Music Room for refunds.

July 17 

 

Chatting about our upcoming Haliburton concert

You can join guitarist Dave Clarke and radio host Penny Mowbray-Randall in conversation tonight about our upcoming concert at the Music Room in Haliburton, Ont., on July 27.
They'll discuss some Steel Rail history in the area (thanks to those of you who joined us at the Hair Hut in Carnarvon a decade or so ago) and talk about some of the songs we'll be playing at our Music Room show. Penny is choosing a couple of those songs to play along with the conversation, so we hope you can tune in!
If you are in cottage country north of Toronto, you can listen at 100.9 FM around 7:15 p.m. Eastern today, July 17. You can also listen live online at canoefm.com.
Penny is one of the people fostering community radio in Canada, so vital to our towns and cities, not to mention independent artists and musicians. So thanks to her and to Canoe for the fine work. 
For more information about our show at the Music Room, please click here. Tickets are $32, and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. on July 27. 

July 12, 2023 

Ticket update for July 27 Haliburton ON show

Tickets are now on sale via Eventbrite for our July 27 concert at the Music Room in Haliburton, ON.

Here's the link. 

Tickets are $32, and the Music Room is in Castle Antiques and Café, 23 Highland St. in Haliburton. You can also get tickets by emailing themusicroomhaliburton@gmail.com or calling 705-457-1155.

Hope to see you in beautiful Cottage Country Ontario!

July 1, 2023  

 

Haliburton, here we come

We're delighted to announce that we will be playing in Haliburton, Ont., on July 27 as part of the inaugural season of the Music Room, a 150-seat venue in Castle Antiques and Cafe in the beautiful Muskoka region of Ontario. 

Thanks to Anna Lowes, Mark Christiano and Craig Titus for inviting to help kick off what promises to be a great concert venue in cottage country. (If you're in Toronto, it's about two and a half hours northeast; if you're driving from Ottawa, head west for about three hours!)

Tickets for the concert cost $32, available by emailing themusicroomhaliburton@gmail.com or calling 705-457-1155.

May 15, 2023 

Thanks, SuperFolk (and super folks)

Thanks to everyone who came out to our concerts on Friday and Saturday in Morin Heights. 
We had a great time at what was a kind of pandemic-delayed album launch in the Laurentians, and we were happy to be able to play some of the material on that new album, Coming Home, as well as some golden oldies and some brand new material that has yet to be recorded.  
A couple of people at the shows asked about the songs we played. The set list from Saturday night is at the end of this post; the songs on Coming Home are noted with an asterisk.
Thanks again to SuperFolk, which presented the shows at Mickey's Cafe. SuperFolk organizes a festival in Morin Heights every summer along with a regular concert series. This year's festival is Aug. 18 -- you can learn more about it and SuperFolk here. In the meantime, thanks again to Ian and Penny for a great experience (did we mention that the sound was fantastic?) in a beautiful venue with great company. 

Here is the set list for those who were curious. All songs are originals except Annabelle (Set 2), written by the brilliant Gillian Welch. 

Set 1
1. Waiting for a Train* 
2. When Are You Coming Home* 
3. Rain*
4. The Last Time*
5. Flow River Flow*
6. Winter Wren*
7. The Comet
8. Bells of Buckingham
9. Argyle Street*
10. Like a Ship
11. Kate's Song*

Set 2
1. On This Train I Ride
2. The Legion on Saturday Night
3. The Town That Used to Be 
4. Nebraska in My Dreams
5. Midnight Road 
6. Prairie Sky 
7. Annabelle (Gillian Welch)
8. Simple Prayer 
9. Home 
10. Late Autumn Days 
11. I'll Fly Away 

Encore
Big Sky Blues

April 26, 2023 

Morin Heights concerts sold out

Both May concerts in Morin Heights are now sold out. Tickets are no longer available for our May 12 and 13 shows at Mickey's Cafe, part of the Superfolk concert series.

Please stay tuned for other upcoming concerts!

Feb. 16, 2023 

May 12 concert in Morin Heights

We are delighted to announce we will be performing in the Laurentians north of Montreal this spring as part of the SuperFolk Morin Heights concert series. 

The show is part of SuperFolk's hors-festival series. We'll be at Mickey's Cafe on Friday, May 12.

Tickets are $20, available from the SuperFolk box office now.

SuperFolk is also presenting our old friend Jason Lang as part of their concert series. Jason is an amazing musician, singer and songwriter – his concert  in Morin Heights is on March 25.

If you are in the Laurentians this summer, you can catch the SuperFolk festival itself Aug. 18-20. Patrick Watson headline this year's edition, the sixth for the festival. You can find out more here.

Congratulations to the organizers for creating this terrific venue for original music.

 


 

 

Jan. 29, 2023 

Snow time

Happy 2023, everyone.

Steel Rail is starting the year by woodshedding some new material and gearing up for some spring and summer concerts. 

Please stay tuned for details about both of those elements. In the meantime, all three members are taking time out this weekend from regular practices to dig out from the latest snowstorm in the Montreal region -- about 10 centimetres and counting, along with gusting winds.

Look for concert updates soon!


 

Aug. 29, 2022 

The Seaway in summer

What a pleasure to play the Upper Canada Folkfest on a late summer's day along the St. Lawrence Seaway in Prescott, Ontario. Thanks to organizers Arthur McGregor and George Tierney, all the fabulous volunteers and of course all the friends old and new who came out.

Dave also performed with his old musical friend David Francey and bandmate Geoff Somers for the final set of the day. All in all, it was a wonderful day of music as the summer slips away. Here is the Steel Rail set list for the festival.

1. Waiting for a Train

2. When Are You Coming Home

3. Big Sky Blues

4. Nebraska in My Dreams

5. Winter Wren

6. Annabelle

7. The Last Time

8. The Comet

9. Kate's Song

10. I'll Fly Away